Like most people that vape, I have been very curious about second hand vapour – equivalent to second hand smoke with traditional cigarettes.  Is it harmful to the people around us?

A study was done and published by the journal Indoor Air, comparing the components of both second – hand smoke and second hand vapour from e cigarettes.  There were two groups of human subjects.  One group was given traditional cigarettes and instructed to smoke it as they usually do in a sealed chamber.  The other group was given electronic cigarettes and instructed to vape.  The air in both chambers was then measured for the different chemicals that would have been inhaled by the individuals in the room.

As predicted, toxic substances were found from cigarette smoke.  On the other hand, electronic cigarette vapour was found only to contain miniscule amounts of nicotine, flavouring and propylene glycol, present in many foods that we eat and deemed safe by the FDA.

The air in the chamber used by e cigarette users contained nicotine?  We all know that electronic cigarette can be used with or without nicotine.  Nicotine is not the harmful substance in traditional cigarettes.  It is the 4,000 plus chemicals that is burned when smoking.  Nicotine is present is most of the smoking cessation devices.  When used as a smoking cessation device, some people prefer to use the electronic cigarette with nicotine it.  Just like caffeine, nicotine is highly addictive but it is not the “smoking gun”.  For those that want to continue enjoying the smoking experience, using electronic cigarette is a far healthier alternative.